Female menstrual cycle is closely related to concentration change of two key hormones, the estrogen and progesterone. Normally at age 45 to 55, secretion of estrogen decreases significantly and consequently resulting progesterone decrease as well. Decrease of these female hormone levels may associate with menopause symptoms, such as hot flash, sweats, rapid heart beat, insomnia, nervousness, depression, vagina dryness, increased bone loss (easily bone fracture), cardiovascular diseases such as stroke, high blood pressure, and so on.
Since the 70's “hormone replacement therapy” (HRT) has been broadly used to relieve menopause symptoms described above. However, an increased association of estrogen-only HRT with breast cancer, ovarian cancer, cervical cancer, and endometrium cancer was revealed in previous reports, especially among those with inherent gene from a family or those already suffering from these cancers. It has been known that long term administration of estrogen may japrodize health and cause side effects, however, other alternative therapies also have side effects. Therefore, there is an unmet, urgent need for development of an estrogen active therapeutics or dietary supplements without side effect for menopause women to improve the symptoms. The material used in the present invention is a common food and traditional Chinese medicine, Momordica charantia, wherein estrogenic compounds can effectively activate estrogen receptor, ERα and ERβ. Furthermore, the compounds of the present invention can be applied and used as a pharmaceutical composition or dietary supplement compositions for improving the estrogen-deficiency related syndromes.